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Department of Social Anthropology
bsas seminar

Department seminar: Antonio De Lauri

The Department of Social Anthropology is happy to announce the upcoming seminar with Dr. Antonio De Lauri (CMI). The title of the lecture is "The Taliban and the Humanitarian Soldier: Freedom and Humanity in Afghanistan".

Human soldiers
What forms of humanity are produced in the context of humanitarian wars? is a central question in De Lauri's talk on Thursday.
Photo:
Antonio De Lauri

Main content

Seminar paper

What forms of humanity are produced in the context of humanitarian wars? What role does freedom play in Taliban’s ideology and humanitarian militarism? In an attempt to reflect on the different configurations of freedom and humanity that emerged in the context of recent Afghanistan’s conflicts, this paper addresses the perspective of two key figures: the Taliban and the humanitarian soldier.

Building on narratives such as poetry and interviews, this angle allows us to observe the complexity of the Afghan humanitarian theatre in a way that goes beyond merely assessments of political and economic interests, and it reveals a fragment of global contemporaneity crucial to understand how processes of production of humanity combine with war and humanitarian efforts.

About the lecturer

Antonio De Lauri is a Senior Researcher at the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI). He holds a PhD in "Human Sciences: Anthropology of the Contemporary" (2010). He has conducted research in Afghanistan and Pakistan, published extensively and currently works on humanitarian diplomacy and humanitarian borders.

De Lauri is the founding editor and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Public Anthropologist and he is Series Editor of Berghahn Books "Humanitarianism and Security".

Light refreshments will be served in the Corner Room after the seminar. All interested are welcome!